2016 Stankovic Cup: D'Tigers Beat Chinese Basketball Team 79-71

D’Tigers of Nigeria defeated the 2016 Stankovic Cup host, Chinese basketball team, 79-71 on Tuesday in a four nation tournament which is a part of their preparations towards this summer's Olympics in Rio Brazil.

Coach Williams Voigt side that defeated the host country was without some of his key players that won the 2015 Afro Basketball championship in Tunisia.

The Nigeria’s senior national men’s basketball team did not feature players like Al-Farouq Aminu, who just concluded his basketball camp in Ibadan at the weekend, his brother Alade, NBA star, Victor Ezeli and new NBA draft, Mike Gbinije.

Meanwhile, the coach of the Chinese team, Gong Luming blamed the loss on the absence of his key players and former NBA star Yi Jianlian.

"The opening of the game was not good, we didn’t play as a team in offence and there were too much individual play," Luming said.

This quartet is expected to join their team-mates in Las Vegas after the Stankovic Cup to continue preparations for the Olympics despite the lack of funds from the sports ministry towards this end.

D’Tigers next game comes up on Thursday against Argentina while China play France, who beat Argentina 64-57 on Tuesday. Punch